Collapsible arm rest for seats



Sept. 27, 1932. A, B. BELL COLLAPSIBLE ARM REST FOR SEATS 2 Sheets-Sheet l of J www 3 4 /,Z// R Y y 3 9 A 0a O M E 2 j N y-; www., M 7:: MWMWA g- A -W HwwununwhwnnnHMLEHNNHNMNJ|JnulJ |l M m v 3 6 l l l l l l l I 4 l l l I l I I V l l l I l .J

sept. 27, 1932. Aga BELL www5 COLLAPSIBLE ARM REST FOR SEATS Filed June 5. 1929 a sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 27, 1932 iiaass PATE ALFRED E. BELL, OE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIeNoR To HALE a EILEURN oo., OE PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OE DELAWARE COLLAIE'SIBLE ARM REST FOR SEATS Application filed zrune'a, i929. kserial No. 367,969.

arm rest between the individual seat cushion usually adds to the comfort of the occupants and insures to each Occupant his allotted share of the seat. However, when the seat is occupiedby only one person, itis more comfortable if the intermediate arm rest were not present and the whole length of unobstructed seating space were available to the sole occupant.

Otten friends sitting together prefer double seats without intermediate arm rests.v

An object of this 4invention is to provide a collapsible arm rest especially adaptedV for use in public conveyances, which can be collapsed into the seat to be completely out of the way, and which can be easily erected into arm supporting position by the seat Occupant. o

Anotherobject of this invention is to provide a seat for a plurality of passengers, having a collapsible arm rest which is adapted to be folded completely between the individual seat cushions and seat back cushions, and one which requires only a very narrow space between the adjacent seat cushions and back cushions. i

Another obj ect of this invention is to provide a collapsible arm rest for vehicle seats which is sturdy and strong` in construction, and which can be easily and quickly erected or collapsed by the passenger.

Other objects of my invention will bev'in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter. i

In accordance with my invention, my collapsible arm rest comprises generally an arm rest member hinged to the seat back trame between the back cushions and a supporting member hinged to the cushion rest between the adj aoent sea-t cushions. l/Vhen raised, the

free ends ot these members are adapted to Y meet and to be latohed together, thus establishing an arm rest structure between the individual seats. When unlatched and lowered these members are adapted to remain by drawings.

gravity between the cushions of theseat back and seat. Y f

In order that a` clearer understanding of my invention may be had, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings forming a part of and illustrating certain possible embodiments of my invention. v

Referring to thedrawings, Figure l is a rontview of a double vehicle seat showing my improved collapsible arm rest in erected position between the individual cushions;

Figure 2 is an enlarged transverse vertical cross-sectional view through the vehicle seat and collapsible arm rest, taken on line 2-2 of Figure l, showing in full linesthe arm rest inerected position and in dotted lines the arm rest in lowered or collapsed position;

Figure 3 is an enlarged top plan view OI' a seat with my collapsible armrest thereto attached, certain parts being broken away to more clearly show the construction; and

n Figure 4f is an enlarged'fr'ont view ofthe seat and my collapsible arm 'rest thereto attached, certain parts of the seat being shown in cross section, taken on line i-tof F igure 2.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the Referring to the drawings, I have shown in Figure l, a double seat of the type adapted for use in railway coaches and busses. However, it is understood that my collapsible arm rest may be used in association with any seat, and I do not limit myseltI to the use only in connection with railway car seats andl b'us seats'as shown. Furthermore,my collapsible arm rest may also be usedat the end of a seat, if desired, for instance,to facilitate the entrance of passengers into or out of thev seat.

For purposes of illustration only, theref torg, I show a seat cushion frame l0' adapted to support a plurality of passengers. VA back rest trame l1 is secured thereto.. The. seat cushion trameiis adapted to support a spring assemblyl2 of welldrnown construction, enclosed within a suitable casing. The top sur- -face of the spring assembly may be inclined rearwardly in the well-known manner t'ogive T' orties lso a comfortable inclination to the individual seat cushions 18 supported thereon.

v An attaching bracket, cast into the form shown in Figures 2, 8 and 4, is positioned between the individual seat cushions, and rests upon the seat cushion supporting frame 10. The attaching bracket comprises generally a foot portion secured to the supporting frame 10 by any suitable means, such as screws 16. A pair of upstanding attaching lugs 17 are provided to which theV lower end of the post member 18 is hinged by means of a pin 19. The post member, as sl'iow'nV in Figure 2, is given a curved shape so that when collapsed it will rest upon the supporting .frame 10 and liebetween the seat cushions,

so as to occupy the least possible space. To

`make room for the attaching bracket and to `permit the post member to be fully collapsed a foot portion V21 which is adapted to rest upon the supporting frame 10. The arm rest supporting'bar 20 may also be secured to the back rest frame in any suitable manner. The arm support member may be made of wood or metal, and is of suchV shapeas Ito Aprovide a comfortable supporting surface for the passengers arm. -If the arm support member is made of metal it may --be cast in w'channel form to provide a topV supporting surface 22 and side flanges 28, as shownimore particularly in Figures -2 and. rl`he arm support member is hinged at'V one end to Ythe vertical supporting bar 2Ol by meansof a .pin 24' which extends through a pair of lugs 25 provided on the supporting bar. The hinge Vvpin Y24, as shown in Figure 8, may extend through one lug and throughV an opening in the arm support member and may be screwed tothe other lug to present acomplete assem- Y bled construction. L'

The arm support member isso shaped asto Vlie fiatly against the vertical supporting bar when incollapsed position. Individual back rest cushions 26 are provided to correspond with the individual seat cushions 13. When the arm support memberisincollapsed position it is practically concealed between adjacent back rest cushions, and isso deeply positioned therebetween that ak passenger could rest his back'between thetwo cushions without discomfort. 'v'This is illustrated more clearly in Figure2 where it is Vseen that the body contacting'surfaces-"of the -back rest back -rest cushions. cushions 26 and seat cushions 13 extend fora considerable distance beyond the collapsed arm rest member and post member.

The lower end of the post member 18 is provided with a projecting lug portion 27, which is adapted to engage the upstanding iiange 28 of the bracket 17 when the post is swung to vertical position, thus limiting the maximum outward swinging movement of the post member. The upper end of the post member is-preferablyV rounded olf to present a stud portion- 29,KY which will readily enter a socket or hole 30 provided in the end of the arm rest member. rlhe receiving mouth of thesocket may be bevelled or reamed, as shown in Figure 2, to facilitate the entrance :of thefstud portion into the socket.

To prevent the post member and arm support member from becoming disengaged due to the jolts of the vehicle, means are provided to resiliently hold the stud portion of the post member within the socket in the arm support member. A bolt member, having a head portion 31 and stem portion 32, is provided.A This bolt member is adapted to reciprecatel in a longitudinal cavity 33 provided in the arm support member. The head portion 31 of the bolt member is provided with a conical end 34, which is adapted to seat within a corresponding conical cavity in the side of the stud portion 29 of the post member. A compression spring 35, surrounding the stem portion 32 and positioned between the head portion 31 and the wall portion 36 of thearm support member operates to norvmally shoot the bolt member forwardly, and

to keep the conical end thereof seated within the corresponding conical cavity .in the end of the postrmember. A pin 87 extending Vthrough the stem portion 82 is adapted to engage the wall portion 36 to limit the forward movement of the bolt member.

Now* it is seen that when the stud portion V30 ofthe post member is inserted within the cooperating socket in the end of the arm sup- Vport member, a slight downward pressure on the arm rest member will cause the `conical end of the bolt-to ride over the rounded end of the post member andshoot into the coni calhole in the side thereof. Likewise by a slight ,upward force exerted on-the end of the arm support member, the conicalV end of lthe bolt will slip out of :the conical hole in V'collapsed so as to be almost completely concealedbetween adjacent seatcushions and When my arm rest is collapsed, the vehicle seatcan be crowded with any number of passengers without any part of the collapsed arm rest giving discomfort to the passenger seated thereover. When desired, my collapsible arm rest can be quickly erected by the passenger to separate himself from his co-passenger, or for any other ,purpose It is furthermore seen that my collapsible arm rest is adapted to be attached to any form of seat, either to constitute an intermediate arm rest to separate passengers, or to constitute an end arm rest to facilitate, :tor example, the entrance of a passenger into the seat.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and as many apparently Widely different embodiments of this invention could be made Without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description shovvn in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is: In combination With a vehicle seat having a seat cushion portion and a back rest portion, of a collapsible arm rest including an attaching lug secured to said seat cushion portion, a post member hinged at one end to said lug and adapted to lie substantially parallel With the seat cushion portion When in collapsed position, said post having a projecting portion adapted to engage said lug to limit the outward pivoting movement of the post member, and an arm support member hinged to said back rest portion and adapted to lie in a plane substantially parallel With said back rest portion when in collapsed position, said post and arm support member being detachably connected when the arm rest is erected.

This specification signed this 28th day of May, 1929.

ALFRED B. BELL. 

